Glove



(No' Model.) Y

' P. BUOKLEY 8v E.-H. DECKER.

GLOVE.

\ Patented Au ye, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

PAUL BUCKLEY AND EARLE HARRY DECKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GLOVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,650, dated August 6, 1889. Application filed March 21, 1889. Serial No. 304,178. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, PAUL BUCKLEY and EARLE HARRY DECKER, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new'and useful Improvement in Gloves, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in the class of gloves involving especial construction to adapt them for use by base-ball playpadded gloves for the protection of his hands to enable them to endure the swift and reglove, or a. glove with lighter padding, on the righthand. NVhen thus equipped, the catcher manages always to receive the impact of the ball against the left hand, and he employs his right to close over the ball to retain it when stopped and to grasp the ball for throwing. It is obvious that in the case of a left-handed catcher the padded glove is provided for the right hand.

The object of ourinvention is to provide a catchers glove in which the padding shall be so arranged or distributed as to present greater relative thicknesses in certain determinate partsv of the glove than in others, whereby the greatest thickness of padding shall be provided where the impact of the ball is to be received, and the shape of the glove thereby produced be such as to aid materially in the retention of the ball when the impact takes place. Our object is also to provide an improved construction of a catchers lefthand glove in the use of whichthe danger of breaking or bruising by the ball of a finger of the hand on which the glove is worn shall be greatly reduced, if not rendered practi cally impossible, whatever the manner in which the ball may strike the hand.

To the above ends our invention consists in having padding q between them.

the general construction of our improved,

catchers glove to produce the desired disposition of the padding. It also consists in providing to extend continuously across the finger portion of a catchers left-hand glove a re-enforcing shield of material sufficient-ly stiff to render the fingers of the hand prac tically integral and distribute the force of a blow upon any one of the fingers over all.

Our invention still further consists in details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the back of a catchers left-hand glove provided with our improvements, having a part broken away to disclose to View the internal construction; Fig. 2, a similar view of the front side of the same; and Figs. 3 and 4 sections, respectively on'the lines 3 3 and 4 4 of Fig. 1 and viewed in each instance as indicated by the arrows.

. A is a catchers left-hand glove, comprising a back portion A and a padded front portion or faceA The face is made up of an outer layer or cover of buckskin or other like suitable and durable material 25 and of two inner layers or covers 8 s, of chamois or the like, Each of the aforesaid layers is intact and spreads over the entire extent of the front A the fingers of the glove being formed by the back thereof, as hereinafter described. The back portion A'rcomprises a layer or cover of buckskin or the like, having the finger portion separated into strips 4", which are wide enough to permit them to be turned in and joined together and secured to the cover 8 to partition off the fingers, as most clearly shown in Fig. 3. The padding (1 is by preference evenly distributed over the upper portion of the face A or, more particularly stated, over that part of the glove which covers the fingers and hollow of the palm of the wearers hand.

The lower part of the face A or part thereof which extends over the base of the hand and the wrist of the wearer, is provided with additional padding g, which may increase gradually in thickness, as shown in Fig. 4, and forms a protuberance y over the base of the thumb and palm portions, preferably conforming at its edge to the circle described by the hollow of the palm of the hand, as indicated by the dotted line as in Fig. 2.

In catching a ball with the glove above described the hand is so held as to cause the ball to strike the glove at an acute angle at about y, Fig. 2, whereby the main force of the blow is directed against the padding forming the protuberance instead of against the palm of the hand. The effect of a blow thus received is to distribute the force of the impact more or less over the entire hand, while the ball, when stopped, rests in a hollow which the gradually-diminished padding produces at this point, being held therein, of course, by the catchers other hand.

B is a shield, preferably of sole or harness leather, though any other desirable material possessing a sufiicient degree of stiffness may be employed. The shield conforms in shape with the upper or finger portion of the glove to the edge of which it is secured, as shown, the edge 19 of the shield being left free or unsecured to the glove. By preference the shield projects beyond the ends of the finger portion of the glove, (meaning thereby beyond the point to which it is desired the ends of the wearers fingers shall extend in the glove,) and extends back to or nearly to the base of the fingers.

In the use of the shield B the force of a ball striking upon the end of the glove, instead of exerting itself against only one or two of the fingers, as has been the case in the use of gloves hitherto provided, is distributed by the shield more or less over the entire hand, thereby rendering the danger of breaking or seriously bruising the fingers, which has hitherto existed, very remote, if not impossible, the function of the shield being to stiffen the back of the glove and render the fingers substantially integral, whereby a blow against one of the latter will be, to a more or less degree, distributed over and resisted by all. Any shield of stiff material secured upon and extending continuously across the back of the finger portion of the glove is within the spirit of our invention, whether it is designed to extend beyond the extremities of the fingers of the wearer or not.

The fingers being formed for the most part the glove is constructed there are no seams with which the fingers will come into contact in the use of the glove to cause discomfort to the wearer.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. 111 a eatchers glove having the front of its palm and finger portions provided with padding q, the inner cover 8, extending continuously across the finger portion, the back portion A, also extending continuously across the finger portion, secured at intervals to the cover 8, and aifordin g separate compartments for the fingers, and a protuberance 'y at the base of the thumb and palm portions, formed with additional padding (1, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with a eatchers glove, a shield B, of stiff material, secured to the glove and extending continuously across the back of the finger portion thereof, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with a eatchers glove, a shield B, of stiff material, secured to the glove and extending continuously across the back and beyond the extremity of the finger portion thereof, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a catchers glove, the combination of a front A padded throughout and having additional thickness of padding at the bases of the thumb and palm portions, a back A, and a shield B, of stiff material, secured to the glove and extending continuously across the back of the finger portion thereof, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a catchers glove, the combination of a front A padded throughout and having additional thickness of padding at the bases of.

the thumb and palm portions, a back A, secured at intervals to the inner side of the front portion to afiord separate compartments for the fingers, and a shield B, of stiff material, secured to the glove and extending continuously across the back and beyond the extremity of the finger portion thereof, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

PAUL BUOKLEY. EARLE HARRY DECKER. In presence of J. W. DYRENFORTH, M. J. BoWERs. 

